Kroger Grocery & Baking Co. v. Dempsey
Decision Date | 14 October 1940 |
Docket Number | No. 4-6047.,4-6047. |
Citation | 143 S.W.2d 564 |
Parties | KROGER GROCERY & BAKING CO. v. DEMPSEY. |
Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Nevada County; Dexter Bush, Judge.
Action by Louella Dempsey against the Kroger Grocery & Baking Company for personal injuries. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals.
Reversed, and cause dismissed.
Owens, Ehrman & McHaney and John M. Lofton, Jr., all of Little Rock, for appellant.
James R. Bush, of Prescott, for appellee.
Appellee brought suit against appellant to recover damages for physical injuries alleged to have been sustained by her from a fall she suffered while a customer in appellant's grocery store in Prescott, Arkansas. The negligence complained of was that on the 30th day of September, 1939, at or about 8:30 p. m., the plaintiff entered defendant's store to make a purchase; that the defendant, its agents, servants and employees, negligently permitted a banana peel to be and remain upon the floor in said store; that the plaintiff, while in the exercise of ordinary, reasonable care for her own safety, stepped upon said banana peel, fell, and received painful injuries as a result thereof.
The answer was a general denial and a plea of contributory negligence on the part of appellee.
Trial resulted in a verdict and judgment in favor of appellee in the sum of $400.
Appellant contends that there was no substantial evidence to take the case to the jury, and it is our view that this contention must be sustained.
Only two witnesses testified on behalf of appellee. The appellee, Louella Dempsey, and a physician who examined her sometime after her injury. The testimony of the physician goes only to the extent and nature of appellee's injury. He was not present and knew nothing about how the injury occurred.
The testimony of appellee discloses that she is a colored woman 39 years of age and weighs about 200 pounds. On the occasion of the injury she entered appellant's store for the purpose of purchasing merchandise, and fell after stepping upon a banana peel. We quote from her testimony:
Appellee further testified in substance that she was able to walk on home after her accident, and that in stepping upon the banana peel she fell upon her back and her feet slipped out in front of her. That she stretched out and "laid out in the store". That her fall took place between the checking stand and the wall about "middleways". That there were other people around in the store at the time of her fall, and that there was no one at the exact place she fell except her two girls and her. That a Mrs. Meyers was at the checking counter checking out her groceries when she fell, and that some boys were over in the corner of the store near the place at which she sustained her fall.
Mrs. Meyers, whom appellee saw at the checking counter, testified that she was in the Kroger store at the time that Louella Dempsey fell. She did not see the fall, as Louella fell just behind her. That she heard the noise, looked around, and saw her upon the floor; that she knew the exact spot upon which Louella Dempsey fell. Quoting from her testimony:
Mr. Hillis, manager of appellant's store, testified in substance that on Saturdays the store is usually swept from five to seven times a day, and that they always watch the store for articles falling on the floor, because he knew that foreign objects such as banana peels were dangerous, and instructed his employees to keep the floor clean, and that he did everything possible to maintain his store in a clean and safe condition, and that on September 30, 1939, he had kept his store clean, and had exercised every precaution within his knowledge to make the store clean and safe for the customers. On cross-examination Hillis testified that the reason for sweeping the store many times a day was because they handled green and fresh vegetables and that that stuff got upon the floor and it was necessary to...
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